


Blown Away

by Telaryn



Category: Angel: the Series, Leverage
Genre: Angst, Crossover, Dysfunctional Family, Dysfunctional Relationships, Family Drama, Gen, Next Generation, Past Sexual Abuse, Prison, Psychic Abilities, Redemption, Relationship(s), Self-Destruction, Snark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-10 09:41:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3285647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telaryn/pseuds/Telaryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lindsey returns to Portland with news of a relative Eliot didn't know they had - a sixteen year old niece who is in a lot of trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blown Away

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a song-fic writer as a rule, and I can count on one hand the number of songs that have inspired fics I've ended up writing. When the urge hits me though, I can honestly say I've never regretted the results.

Nothing good was going to come from her sitting here and listening to one side of Eliot’s conversation with his twin brother – intellectually Faith knew that. And _logically_ she understood that all the intellectual awareness and detachment she could muster meant nothing against the truth that Lindsey McDonald invariably brought out the absolute worst in her.

 _And yet here you sit._ She huffed out a sharp, frustrated breath and hugged her arms more tightly across her chest. Lindsey wanted something from Eliot – that much was easy to pick up, especially when you considered that Lindsey almost never called _unless_ he wanted something. The important questions were _what_ did he want, and who besides Eliot was going to be hurt in the process of getting it?

“What’s up?” Eliot’s daughter Hayley bounced into the room, backpack over one shoulder. “You look…like you really want to kill somebody.” Faith straightened up as the girl’s body language abruptly stilled; as far as she knew Eliot hadn’t told Hayley all that much about his family. It was a safe bet she knew very little about her uncle – assuming she even knew she had one.

“Where’re you off to?” Faith asked, forcing herself to relax as much as she could until she knew how much of this was going to touch her almost stepchild.

Some of the damage was already done though – not for nothing had Sophie taken Hayley on as her protégé. “The Pour House – I’m meeting Grace and Megan for a study session.” She paused, looking decidedly uncertain. “Unless I’m not?”

Eliot had appeared in the doorway to the kitchen in time to hear Hayley’s answer. “How late were you gonna be?” he asked. Faith glanced up at him, but his expression was maddeningly neutral.

Hayley shrugged. “Dunno. Grace mentioned something about dinner?” she asked, hopefully.

“Text when you’re on your way home,” Eliot said. “Try and get some actual work done.”

He made all the right gestures as Hayley kissed him goodbye and bounded out the door, but the hair on the back of Faith’s neck was already at attention. “You’re not meeting him alone,” she said calmly, as he went to lock the door after Hayley.

Some of Eliot’s true feelings were starting to bleed through as he turned back to face her. “Some things go without sayin’ after all this time, darlin’.” He joined her – grabbing the chair nearest where she was still sitting. “He’ll be here in twenty minutes, and unless he’s figured it out for himself, I _don’t_ want him knowing about Hayley.”

Which answered at least one of Faith’s concerns. As far as the others went… “Did he at least say what it was about this time?” she asked, making herself comfortable at last, and propping her feet up on the arm of his chair. Eliot for his part automatically began massaging the foot closest to him. “I heard you say the name ‘Jeremiah’?” she asked, barely resisting the urge to purr as he worked. “Aunt Jean said you used to have a brother with that name?”

Faith had met most of Eliot’s living family a couple of years earlier, and her relationship with his brother Lindsey stretched even further back than her association with Eliot. Beyond that she knew his family had been desperately poor when he was small, losing both his sisters to the flu because doctors were a luxury and things had escalated before either of his parents realized they had made a fatal miscalculation.

He also had two brothers besides Lindsey who were dead. Faith had heard about the youngest from her own father – in a strange turn of events, the team had been tasked with uncovering corruption at a mining operation where Patrick Spencer had been one of a dozen men killed in a preventable explosion. Patrick had a son Cory, but he’d never told the kid that he had an extended family. Faith knew that Eliot had provided for Cory without ever admitting their connection, and even though he never talked about it she was pretty sure he checked up on his nephew regularly.

Jeremiah though…that was a name she had only ever heard spoken once by Eliot’s Aunt Jean, and then with one of the saddest expressions Faith had ever seen.

Eliot’s hands had stilled briefly when Faith mentioned his brother’s name, but he recovered smoothly. “He was about eighteen when he died,” Eliot said, his hands resuming their soothing motions. “Drug overdose. Lindsey tried…I tried…hell, we all tried, but Jer had this ability to fall through whatever crack was nearby.”  
*********************************  
 _”No bullshit, Eliot, and no games. Something’s come up connected to Jeremiah, and I need your help.”_

Family – it was his weak spot – the one thing Lindsey could always invoke as an all-access pass to Eliot’s life. And their middle brother was an ongoing source of guilt for both of the twins. They were so young when their sisters died it was hard to remember faces independent of the pictures Aunt Jean kept in her sitting room. Eliot still remembered going to Jeremiah’s funeral; it had ironically also turned out to be the last time he’d seen Pat alive.

Stopping his massage, he reached out to Faith – beckoning her to him. After a beat she lowered her legs with a groan and moved from her own chair into his lap. Looking for a long moment into her dark eyes, Eliot managed to let everything else go. “I’m not going to let him take advantage of you,” she said, brushing a few strands of hair off his face. “I don’t care if you hate me for it.”

Hooking one hand at the back of her neck, Eliot pulled her down for a kiss – letting her know without words exactly how he felt. “Not a problem,” he assured her. “In fact, I’m counting on it.’

Faith groaned, pressing her forehead to his. “I can’t believe this is the first time in weeks we’ve had literally hours to ourselves and we’re spending it waiting for your brother.”

Eliot chuckled softly, acknowledging the irony. “I promise I’ll get rid of him as quick as I can. I bought something last week I’ve been wanting to try out with you…”

Faith’s eyebrows went up at that, but before she could say anything, they heard a knock on the door. Grumbling, she spilled out of Eliot’s lap and let him get to his feet. Stumbling a little, he headed for the door and opened it. “C’mon in.”

Even though his brother was turned out in what Eliot knew were his “casual” clothes, Lindsey’s entire outfit cost more than most of the items in Eliot’s closet altogether. “Thank you for seeing me.”

“Not like you gave him a choice,” Faith said. She had perched on the arm of the chair they’d been sharing and every inch of her was already radiating ‘openly hostile’.

“Faith!” Lindsey exclaimed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “So good to see you!”

“She’s not leaving,” Eliot said, moving past his brother and returning to stand near Faith, “so don’t even start. Can I get you something to drink?”

“Scotch.” His request brought Eliot up short. “I know, but you might want to pour yourself one too.” He glanced at Faith. “And as much as it pains me to say this, I’m pretty sure we’re going to need your help with this one.”

Eliot wasn’t surprised when Faith refused an offer of alcohol for herself – it was early by just about anyone’s standards – but because he knew his twin, he went ahead and poured a finger’s worth for himself. “So you said this had something to do with Jeremiah?” he asked, returning to where Lindsey and Faith had taken seats for themselves.

Lindsey accepted his Scotch with a nod of thanks. “Jeremiah and me,” he said. He tossed off half the liquor in a single swallow. “And something I’ve been keeping from you.”

Eliot’s grip tightened on his glass as he took his own seat. “Go on,” he said, setting the Scotch carefully on the table.

“And if it’s worse than some of the other stuff you’ve kept from him over the years, I’m probably not going to take it well,” Faith interjected.

“Yeah, well, everything’s subjective,” Lindsey said – clearly unimpressed with the threat of a possible Slayer-fueled beat-down. He looked directly at Eliot. “Before he died, Jer fathered a child. She’s sixteen years old, and she’s in trouble.”  
****************************  
Some days Eliot hated how deeply his twin brother understood him. Thinking of his own recently discovered daughter, he tossed off the Scotch he’d poured for himself and set the glass back on the table. “How long?” he asked, meeting Lindsey’s gaze again.

“Carly’s mother contacted me about five years ago, looking for money. You remember the Bennets that lived down the road from us?”

Searching his memory, Eliot was able to dredge up pale images of a family with two little girls. He’d been tasked with babysitting them several times growing up, along with his own younger siblings. “Katie and Kassidy, right?” he asked, looking to his brother for confirmation.

Lindsey nodded. “By the time they were in high school together, Jer and Katie were a match made in hell. I keep telling myself if we’d been there you or I would have twigged to what was going on, but hindsight and all that.” He shuddered. “I insisted on DNA tests, and when they came back positive I did what I could to set them up.”

“Please tell me you put safeguards in place,” Faith sighed. “Oh come on,” she added when Eliot glanced at her. “It’s not like this is new territory for me.” Her attention shifted to Lindsey. “It’s why you need me in this, am I right?”

“Partly,” Lindsey acknowledged. “And yes, money for Carly went into a trust fund administered by me. I put Katie on an allowance that was supposed to be controlled by an associate in Tulsa. Peter was also supposed to be checking in on them regularly and making sure Carly was all right.”

“Can we assume then, that your carefully crafted system broke down?” Eliot asked, his stomach roiling. It wasn’t like Lindsey to take so long to get to the point unless what he was confessing was really bad.

Almost as if he was confirming Eliot’s fear, Lindsey sighed heavily. “To say the least. Carly called me late yesterday. She’s been arrested for the murder of her stepfather…Peter. Katie seduced him into looking the other way while she spent most of the money I was sending on drugs. I’m still putting the pieces together, but it _looks_ like Carly blames Peter for murdering her mother.”

“And the cops don’t agree,” Faith finished for him. She looked as nauseous as Eliot felt.

“You planning on defending her?” Eliot asked his brother.

“I’m certainly not going to leave her fate in the hands of some legal aid hack,” he said, his demeanor saying more clearly than words that the idea of turning his back on his niece in her hour of need had never entered his mind. “The reason I need you two – and specifically Faith – is the report from the crime scene.”

Reaching into his leather messenger bag, Lindsey withdrew a folder and passed it across to Faith. “The ADA assigned to the case also sent me the coroner’s preliminary report. Peter was ripped to shreds, like he’d been put through a giant Cuisinart.”

Faith’s head shot up at that. “You think she summoned a demon to help her take care of the problem?”

“Let’s say I’m not ruling it out,” Lindsey said. He looked at his brother. “I fucked up, Eliot. I thought I was doing right by her, but if this thing plays out like it’s looking to, I left her in the care of a monster. I need to make this right. I need your help.”

Eliot knew better than anyone what Lindsey’s idea of ‘doing right by his family’ typically entailed, but there was no point in rehashing old wounds. Not with his brother sitting across from him, looking legitimately shattered by everything that had happened. “We’ll need to let Nate know what’s up and shift some things around,” he said, thinking of Hayley. “We can meet you in Tulsa first thing tomorrow.”

He would have thought the day wouldn’t have had any more surprises for him, but Faith looked up at him just then. “I’m going to throw some things in a bag and go with Lindsey,” she said. “I’ve got a pretty good idea of the kind of things that would motivate a teenage girl to seek out demonic help, and it’s better than I get there sooner rather than later.”  
*******************************************  
“Do you trust him?”

The two of them had retreated to the bedroom, where Faith was already sorting out a couple of days’ worth of clothes to take with her. She’d been expecting the question, but she still paused and gave Eliot her full attention. “Do you think he’s telling the truth?”

After a beat, Eliot nodded. “I’ve seen him like this maybe half a dozen times in my entire life. He feels guilty…responsible. And he’s scared.”

“Then it doesn’t matter if I trust him or not,” Faith said, resuming her packing. “There’s a girl caught up in something supernatural that needs my help. The fact that she’s your niece just makes it that much more urgent as far as I’m concerned.”

Eliot was quiet for a beat then said, “I’ll convince Lindsey to hold off a couple hours, and I’ll go with you.”

Faith looked up sharply. “No. The longer he stays around here, the more unstable it’s going to get. You’re going to have enough trouble reigning Nate in without Lindsey being in arm’s reach – after that Rossum mess, he’ll probably just shoot him.”

“Not to mention,” Eliot began, sighing heavily. Faith nodded.

“Not to mention.” Zipping her bag closed, she threw it on her shoulder and went to Eliot. “Tell the brat goodbye for me, hmm?”

Threading his fingers into her hair, Eliot drew her in for another deep kiss. “And I was so looking forward to a couple of uninterrupted hours with you,” he said.

Faith whimpered softly, feeling things tighten pleasurably in her body. “Rain check babe. I swear. I’ll bribe Hayley if I have to.”

Grinning, Eliot kissed her again. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Lindsey was waiting by the door when they returned to the living room. “I’ll text you where we’re staying,” he told Eliot. “Get there as soon as you can. I’m going to try and get bail posted for Carly, but the sooner we can sort out what’s really going on down there, the better I’ll feel.”

“First thing in the morning – I promise,” Eliot said. After a beat, he pulled his brother into a hug. “We’ll get this sorted, Linds. Don’t worry.”

Lindsey and Faith were quiet all the way down to the street. “I hope you’re smart enough to understand how lucky you are that he keeps forgiving you,” Faith said as Lindsey gestured her towards his car.

“Eliot understands me,” Lindsey said quietly, not meeting her eyes. “Better than you do.”

That startled a laugh from Faith. “Oh baby – I think it keeps you up at night worrying about how much you and I understand each other.”

Silence fell between them, lasting until Lindsey pulled on the highway, heading for the airport. “How’s fatherhood agreeing with him?” he asked, not taking his eyes from the road.

Faith inhaled sharply, but recovering quickly she gave him her best slow clap. “Nice, Counselor. How long have you known?”

“She found me first,” Lindsey said. “I’m a lot more high profile than my brother likes to be. Once I had her checked out and ran all the necessary tests, I gave her enough money to get to Portland and directions on how to find Eliot, with the stipulation that she couldn’t tell him I was involved.”

“You didn’t say anything,” Faith noted.

That got her a knowing, sidelong glance. “He didn’t say anything either. He hasn’t decided how much of his morally questionable past he wants his daughter to know about yet.” Lindsey snorted softly. “And even if you count everything he’s done over the course of his life, the most morally questionable thing in his entire existence is still me.”  
***********************************  
The trip to Tulsa was more peaceful than Faith suspected any of them would have expected. Lindsey was clearly trying to be on his best behavior, and for the sake of Eliot and a girl she’d never met, Faith was trying her best to return the favor.

“If we are looking at breaking a deal,” Faith said, reading through the crime scene report again, “this could get dicey. I’m better at putting them in the ground than talking them into or out of things.”

“Negotiations are my problem,” Lindsey said dismissively. “You’re here for Carly. _Nothing_ touches that girl – I don’t care what you have to do or who you have to kill.”

His voice was shaking as he stared at the magazine he wasn’t really reading. Impulsively, Faith lightly touched his wrist; when she had his attention she said as gently as she could, “This wasn’t your fault.”

“You’re hysterical,” he said, his attempts at hiding his true feelings failing utterly. “Ever consider a career in stand-up?”

Normally she would have taken the rebuff for what it was and given Lindsey his space, but Faith knew this was probably the only moment anyone would have of reaching him, and she was the only person he might get out of his own way long enough to listen to. “How many pedophiles have you dealt with in your career? I’m not talking about any of the demons or devils out there that prefer children – I’m talking about the human-shaped monsters.”

After a quick glance around to make sure they hadn’t drawn undue attention, Lindsey finally admitted. “Not many. I still should have done more – should have done something besides throw money at the problem and hope that would take care of everything.”

“She still had a mother who had even more of a responsibility than you to make sure she was safe,” Faith countered. “Look – you know if you legit fucked up here, I would be the first person trying to make you choke on it. Maybe actually listen to what I’m saying and give yourself a break? You’re here now, and you’re bringing the kind of help Carly needs. In the end that’s what’s going to count.”

He didn’t look as though he entirely believed her, but Lindsey didn’t argue with her either. Taking the win for what it was, Faith let him shift the conversation to lighter topics as their plane landed in Tulsa.  
*******************************  
 _”You have to tell her the truth.”_ None of the others were happy that he and Faith were racing off to help Lindsey with anything, least of all a previously unknown niece accused of murder. Nate in particular wasn’t happy about his own daughter traveling alone with the Wolfram  & Hart attorney, but after a few pointed jabs from Sophie’s elbow acknowledged that Eliot wouldn’t have been able to stop her.

Nate and Sophie had both been in complete agreement that Eliot needed to tell his daughter everything that was going on. “From what you’ve said, she already knows something’s up,” Sophie noted. “It’s not fair to ask the rest of us to lie for you – not about something that she has every right to know.”

Hardison and Parker’s foster son Bryce had then offered to help Eliot with the Carly situation. Just remembering the ferocity with which the teen had been shut down made Eliot wince in sympathy – if he’d been a few years younger, Bryce would have retreated straight into his foster mother’s lap.

It wasn’t that Eliot disagreed with keeping Bryce out of this mess as much as they could. He had his own selfish reasons for keeping Hayley off his brother’s radar. Keeping Bryce in the shadows made every kind of practical sense he could think of.

It was a little after ten when he heard a key in the front door. A few moments later, Hayley appeared in the living room. “Hey dad.” She pulled up short at his expression. “Please tell me you weren’t waiting up for me.”

Pushing himself to his feet, Eliot put an arm around her shoulder. “Yes, but not because of anything you did. C’mon – we need to talk.”

“And you need to cook,” she said as he steered her towards the kitchen. “Oh boy – this really isn’t good.”

The idea that he had an honest-to-goodness tell like that surprised a laugh out of Eliot. “No pots and pans, I promise,” he said as she took a seat at the table. “It’s just…I’ve got some things I need to tell you, and I’m more comfortable in here.” He paused. “Of course if you’re hungry…”

Hayley raised an incredulous eyebrow at him. “I swear, you’re like some mutant ass-kicking Italian grandma sometimes. I’m good. What’s up?”

Realizing he couldn’t stall any further, Eliot took a seat across from her. “You ever share that comparison with any of the others, and I promise you will be hating life.” He exhaled sharply, trying his best to order his thoughts. “An emergency’s come up with my blood family – our family – and Faith and I are going to be gone for a couple of days.”

“Anything serious?” Hayley asked, sobering immediately. “Can I help?”

Reaching across the table, Eliot covered her hand with his. “Maybe later, after we sort through everything. I know you’ve been curious about your Spencer relatives, and I know I keep putting you off…” His voice trailed off as he caught the flash of guilt in Hayley’s expression. “And apparently you decided not to wait? Is that what you’re about to tell me?”

“It’s not Bryce’s fault,” Hayley began, and Eliot idly wondered how rich he would be if he started collecting a dollar for every time his daughter or his girlfriend started a sentence with that particular qualification. “I haven’t been exactly honest with you either.”

Eliot listened as she laid out the whole truth of how she’d made the final connections to find him in Portland. Part of him wanted to hide her away while he roared his ownership of her to the entire world – but the saner part of his soul was strangely touched that Lindsey had apparently sought nothing for himself in exchange for reuniting Eliot with his only living child – not even a thank you from Eliot himself.

“Parker was the one who told me what he did to you,” Hayley was saying as Eliot focused in on the conversation again. “And what he tried to do to Nate. So I get why you don’t want me having anything to do with him.”

Sighing heavily, Eliot settled back in his chair. “Your uncle means well,” he said. “Unfortunately he has a very long history of people getting very hurt in the process of him doing what he thinks is best.”

“You being at the top of the list,” she countered. “So why are you and Faith helping him? Isn’t that just asking to get your teeth kicked in or worse?”

“Maybe,” Eliot agreed, “but it isn’t about us this time.”  
*********************************  
Their first wrinkle had come on hearing that Carly had been transferred to the only prison in the state equipped to handle female mental health patients. “Wouldn’t stop screaming, that one,” the sergeant on duty had said. “Throwing things, hurtin’ herself…good riddance.”

“What now?” Faith had asked as they left the facility’s secured area. Lindsey was furious, but where Eliot would have acted on his anger, he was still very much in control of himself.

“It’s too late to head for McCloud tonight,” he acknowledged. “We’ll have to split up in the morning – I’ll pick Eliot up and start working on a plan B. You head for the prison and get in to see Carly.”

“You seriously want me to bluff my way into the mental ward of a women’s prison?” Faith debated reminding Lindsey of just how many of her buttons he was getting ready to push, but ultimately abandoned the impulse.

“Check the outside pocket,” he said, indicating the messenger bag that was currently resting at her feet. Faith did as she was told and found a complete set of Wolfram and Hart credentials identifying her as ‘Lilah Morgan, Associate Attorney Special Projects.’

“You’re disgusting,” she said, barely resisting the urge to throw the documents as far away from her as she could.

“How do you think I got you on the plane from Portland?” Lindsey asked. “Besides, it’s not like she needs them anymore.”

 _Because she’s dead,_ Faith remembered. Dead at the hands of Angel the vampire, one of the last times he’d been in full on Angelus mode. “Every time I forget and start to think you’re human like the rest of us,” she muttered.

“Okay, that’s rich,” Lindsey laughed. “Your little family lost the moral high ground on that argument a long time ago. Not to mention, weren’t you the one a few hours ago pointing out just how much alike you and I are?” He glanced at her. “Your only problem with those credentials is that you knew Lilah – don’t try to bullshit me otherwise.”

Not wanting to argue with him further, and not willing to outright admit that he had a point, Faith settled for changing the subject. “You realize we’re probably not looking at a demon summoning, right?”

Lindsey was silent a moment, and when he spoke his voice carried notes of defeat. “I know.”

When they reached their hotel, Faith hung back. “I need to make a few calls. Get some advice on how to deal with tomorrow.”

Lindsey nodded. “I’ll see about getting us some dinner. Any preferences?”

“Anything that doesn’t require us leaving or interacting with people for too long,” was the best reply Faith could give him. The Westin was a nice enough hotel – she suspected the room service menu wouldn’t be outside of Lindsey’s budget for the trip.

 _Trauma induced psychic powers._ Once she was alone, the likely truth of Carly’s situation echoed in Faith’s mind. Not for the first time, she wondered if Eliot had really followed what she and Lindsey already seemed to know, and why Lindsey was taking this whole mess so personally. Lindsey blamed himself for putting his own niece in the cross-hairs of a pedophile, but if Faith had learned one truth in the long twisting journey of her life, it was that human monsters were inevitably the hardest ones to recognize.

And if Carly had been abused to the degree that it would take for her to manifest a psychic power capable of literally shredding her abuser, Lindsey’s ‘associate’ had been one of the worst.

Once she was certain she could control herself, Faith made an overseas call – reaching out to the one person left in her life capable of giving her the tools she would need to complete the task Lindsey had set her. “Hey, Willow. Need your help with something.”  
****************************************  
Really alone for the first time in hours, the truth of Lindsey’s situation came crashing in on him. _You’re not going to be able to fix this. No matter how much money you throw at it, no matter how many strings you pull, you won’t be able to make up for putting that girl in danger in the first place._ After placing a sizeable room service order, he cleared his mini-bar of the Scotch and retreated to the balcony overlooking the lights of south Tulsa. _Home sweet home,_ he thought, cracking the seal on the first bottle and downing the contents in a single swallow.

He was on his fourth bottle when Faith returned to the room. “Willow think’s we’re looking at telekinesis,” she said, joining him on the balcony. “Some kind of Carrie situation. She gave me a few ideas.”

“Food should be here any minute,” Lindsey said, taking a more controlled sip of his Scotch. Faith glanced at the empties.

“You leave me any of that?”

Lindsey shrugged. “I was kind of hoping you’d agree to be the sober one tonight. As I recall, you and I don’t do well together when we’re drunk and unsupervised.” Memory rose in his mind of him and Faith in an alley behind a dive bar in south Boston. It hadn’t been a shining moment in either of their lives.

“Go to hell,” Faith drawled. Disappearing back into the room for a second, she returned with one of the full size bottles of beer. “If little Lindsey gets any ideas, just think about me throwing your ass over this railing. That should cool things off enough.”

Snorting softly, Lindsey raised his bottle in salute.  
***************************************  
Even though his life had grown arguably softer over the years, Eliot still occasionally had cause to be grateful for his ability to function on a minimum amount of sleep. Even so, the earliest flight he could catch out of Portland wasn’t able to drop him in Tulsa until well after noon.

Lindsey met him outside the baggage claim. “Change of plans,” he said as Eliot tossed his bag into the backseat of the rental car. “They’ve moved her to McCloud – locked her down as a nut job.” The two of them got in the car and Lindsey immediately pulled out into traffic.

“I filed a few motions this morning with the court in Tulsa,” he continued, “and made application for bail. That’s where I might need you to step in – this psychotic break is a definite wrench in the works. They might only release her into somebody’s custody, and I’m going to want it to be you for now.”

Eliot’s head was already starting to spin. “So you sent Faith ahead?”

His brother nodded. “Even though the situation is looking less and less demonic, she’s still the best equipped to make first contact with Carly. Plus, now that Carly’s a two hour drive away, it made sense to divide up the labor.”

Reviewing everything in his mind, Eliot confirmed that he couldn’t find any flaw in Lindsey’s logic. “How certain are you that you’re going to be able to get her released?”

He could see his brother mentally chewing over the problem. “Eighty-five percent,” Lindsey said finally. “Bail’s going to be ugly regardless, and they’re going to want her to stay in the jurisdiction, but showing the court she has family behind her is going to go a long way in our favor.”

“Faith and I only packed for a couple of days, Lindsey. How long are we talking about?”

Lindsey’s expression was uncharacteristically distracted as he glanced at Eliot. “I just need you here long enough to stabilize the situation, help her get settled. I can handle everything after that.” His attention shifted back to the highway. “I took a leave of absence from the firm. I’m here until this whole thing is settled for good.”

Eliot could feel his adrenaline levels rising in response to his twin’s increasingly focused and determined behavior. Lindsey was already edging towards the point where nothing mattered anymore but the mission – even the well-being of the person he was so determined to save. “Then what, Linds?” he asked quietly. “Have you thought that far ahead?”

When Lindsey glanced at him again, Eliot was startled to see that his brother’s eyes were flushed with red. “I want her to stay with me. I get that she might not want to, and I know you’d be better for her than I could ever be, but I really want to try.”

He swiped angrily at tears Eliot couldn’t see, putting his focus back resolutely on the highway. Stunned beyond words, Eliot let the silence fill the space between them while he tried to figure out how he felt about Lindsey’s sudden determination to step up and be any sort of father to this girl.

After several miles worth of minutes, he was no closer to figuring out how he felt, but he did know what he wanted to say. “Thank you.”

One quick glance appeared to be all Lindsey needed to know what his brother’s gratitude was for. “Faith tell you?” he asked, his tone understandably defensive.

Eliot shook his head. “Hayley, actually. I had to tell her where we were going, which meant telling her about you and, well…sometimes she’s not as good at keeping secrets as she thinks she is.” He paused. “I’m sorry I tried to keep you two apart.”

“Don’t get all weepy on me,” Lindsey countered. “Remember, I knew your first instinct would be to protect her from me.” He sighed, shoulders slumping. “And given my track record, I can’t say you were wrong.”

He fell quiet for another handful of miles before saying, “Carly probably won’t want to stay with me anyway.”  
******************************  
The storm in her head was quiet for the first time in longer than Carly could remember. She was having trouble focusing on what her ‘not-really-an-attorney’ was trying to tell her, because she wanted nothing more in the world than to hide in the middle of the silence forever.

“I can’t keep this, can I?” she asked, nodding at the gun-metal gray stone Lilah-Faith had slipped her as they took their seats.

Faith looked genuinely sorry as she shook her head. “Can’t risk getting any of us in trouble,” she said. “But Lindsey’s working on getting you out of here, and if he does you’ll get to carry as much of that as you need. We’ll also be able to teach you how to control what’s been happening.”

 _Memory of the raw power tearing through her body…Peter’s screams filling her world as he died…_ Carly squeezed down on the stone until the pain in her hand was strong enough to hold the fear and grief at bay. “So I’m not crazy?”

“Already told you that you weren’t,” Faith said gently. “Life handed you a raw deal – I get that probably better than anyone you’re ever gonna meet. But it also gave you a way out, if you decide you want to take it. You’ve got family that cares what happens to you, that isn’t gonna betray your trust like your stepfather did.”

Carly remembered the business card she’d found in her mother’s effects. She’d kept it on her, intending to use it the next time Peter tried anything, but everything had escalated too quickly. “So that guy I called – the attorney – he’s my uncle?”

Faith nodded. “Lindsey. He’s got an identical twin brother Eliot, who’s the one I’m involved with. Your bio-dad died before you were even born.” She brightened slightly. “Eliot’s got a daughter who’s a little bit older than you, though. Hayley. She’s gonna be excited to meet you.”

 _Uncles…cousins…_ Carly tried to look appropriately excited, but the idea of people she didn’t even know giving a damn about her was so far outside the realm of her understanding that Faith might as well have been speaking Greek. She squeezed down on the stone in her hand again, trying to force all of her fear into the rock.

Faith’s eyes suddenly ticked to the left. Startled, Carly looked over her shoulder and saw a handsome, well dressed corporate type heading for the entrance to the visitor’s room. “Is that him?” she asked. “Mr. McDonald?” When Faith nodded, Carly got to her feet.

He pulled up a little when she did, almost as if he wasn’t sure what she was going to do next. “Thank you for coming,” she managed to tell him, inwardly cheering the fact that her voice hadn’t been too obviously shaky. “I wasn’t sure you’d…”

Lindsey McDonald reached across the distance that separated them and gripped her shoulder. Carly saw the guard behind him tense, but so long as they didn’t try to hug it would be okay. “I promised your father I’d look after you,” he said. “I know I haven’t done the greatest job so far, but we’re going to fix that.”

Letting her go, he moved around to Faith’s side of the table. “He’s downstairs if you want to…” he said to her, his voice trailing off significantly.

Faith withdrew a small handful of the gray rocks from the briefcase she’d been carrying and passed them to Lindsey. “She’s getting ready to overload the one she’s holding,” she said, nodding at Carly’s fist. “When she does, just hand her a fresh one.” Pushing to her feet, she reached out and took Carly’s hand. “I’m looking forward to seeing more of you.”

Once they were alone again, Lindsey motioned for Carly to sit. “If you can keep it together, it’s going to help our case a lot. I’ve petitioned the court to set bail for you – showing them that you’re the girl next door will go a long way towards making that happen.”

Head starting to spin, Carly studied the rock in her hands, turning it over and over in her fingers. “I don’t have money for bail,” she said softly. “I don’t have…anything.”

She caught a flash of movement at the edge of her vision, but it wasn’t until she looked up again that she realized her uncle had started to reach out for her. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m going to try and respect your physical boundaries, but if I do anything that makes you uncomfortable tell me, okay?

Carly stared at him for a long moment, then awareness of what he was really saying crashed over her. “You know,” she said, eyes widening. “How do you know? Who told you?”

A loud pop sounded – Carly flinched, tears springing to her eyes as the stone in her palm became little more than a pile of glittering dust. “It’s okay,” Lindsey said, sliding another one across the table towards her. “We came prepare. And to answer your questions, I know because what your stepfather did leaves marks that people like me can recognize.”

He leaned back in his chair. “As far as bail goes, my fee, or anything else involving money, you let me worry about that. I have a lot to make up for where you’re concerned, Carly – and I hope you’ll let me try.”  
*********************************************  
“Please explain to me what I’m looking at here?” Faith asked, as she and Eliot settled in to wait for Lindsey. “Is he really serious about wanting to try and be a father to that girl?”

Pulling her in close to him, Eliot kissed her hair as she settled more comfortably into his embrace. “Oh he’s serious. He’s also completely sure he’s going to fuck it up, or she’s not going to want anything to do with him because, well, he’s him.” Remembering their conversation on the drive from Tulsa, Eliot felt another surge of sympathy for his brother.

Faith sighed. “While I’m not fond of taking on a psychologically traumatized telekinetic, do you think we should step in before it goes too far? Somebody in Carly’s situation isn’t going to take a lot of upheaval.”

Tightening his embrace, Eliot shook his head. “For the first time in his life Lindsey’s invested enough to do something besides throw money at a situation. I don’t think he deserves the guilt he’s decided to carry for everything that’s happened, but I do think the fear is healthy and warranted.” He paused. “We’re going to have to be here a few more days, so I reserve the right to change my mind, but right here and now I think the two of them might actually be everything the other one needs.”


End file.
